Safety apparatus for submarines



March 9, 1943. L. Y. BOOHARIN SAFETY APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINES Filed Oct. 7', 1939 2 Sheets-Sheet l I YINVENTOR [.90 Y flooharln 2 ATTORNEYS March 9, 1943. L. Y. BOOHARIN 2,313,461

- SAFETY APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINES Filed ed. 7. 1959 2 Sheet s-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Zea. Y fioohar/n 2 ATTORNEYS Y s Jmx H \m. w a 3 R. N I

Patented Mar. 9, 1943 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE SAFETY APPARATUS FOR SUBMARINES Leo Y. Booharin, San Francisco, Calif.

Application October 7, 1939, Serial No. 298,462

12 Claims. "(01. 114-165) This invention relates to safety apparatus for submarines, and has for one of its objects the provision of means on a submarine for insuring an adequate supply of atmospheric air to the occupants of the submarine in the event the latter is disabled while submerged, and to exhaust the foul or stale air or gas from the submarine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of releasable signal means carried by a submarine and permanently attached thereto for enabling the occupants of a submerged submarine to communicate directly with persons above the surface of the water either audibly or visually, or both, and which signal means also will function to visually indicate the location of the submarine.

Another object of the invention is the provision of means for supplying an adequate amount of atmospheric air to a disabled submarine to enable working of pumps for exhausting water from the submerging tanks for increasing the buoyancy of the submarine, and at the same time supply atmospheric air to the occupants of the submarine and to discharge foul air or gas from the submarine.

A still further object is the provision of improved power actuated means for raising the bow or stern of a submerged submarine, as desired, or for simultaneously raising the bow and stern.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the specification and drawings annexed hereto.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view of a submarine showing my invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken through one of the elements of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a part sectional and part elevational view of a housing on the deck of a submarine enclosing the device shown in Fig. 2 and the length of air line and" some of the other features of the invention.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary bottom plan view of one of the elements of the invention as seen from line 4-4 of Fig. 3.

Fig.5 is a sectional view taken along line 55 of Fig. 2.

In detail, referring to Fig. 1, the upper deck I of the submarine is formed with a forward recess 2 adjacent the bow, and a rear recess 3 adjacent the stern. In recess 2 is a pair of horizontal propellers 3 having shafts 5 extending slidably through conventional stufing boxes to below deck where they connect at their lower ends by conventional gears in boxes 6 with the ends of the drive shaft of motor 1, the power for the latter being supplied by storage batteries 8. A pair of threaded posts 9 at opposite sides of the motor support the motor by means of threaded blocks l0 rigidly secured to said opposite sides of the motor, and through which the posts pass with their threads engaging the threads of the block. The posts 9 are rotatably supplied in suitable bearings at the opposite ends and a spiral gear is secured to the lower end of each shaft, which spiral gear meshes with a worm gear on horizontal shaft II that rotatably extends through partition I 2 in the submarine, the outer end of the shaft being provided with a hand wheel l3 for turning the shaft.

The same construction is provided at the rear of the submarine for the propeller in recess 3, and corresponding elements are similarly numbered, but are primed.

In operation, in the event raising of the bow is desired, the motor I is actuated, causing rotation of the propellers 4 in the desired direction, and this action, together with manual turning of the hand wheels 13 will raise the motor and propellers 4, to the point where the latter are appreciably spaced above the level of the deck and out of the recess 2. To withdraw the propellers into the recess, the hand wheels are actuated to lower the motor and propellers. The stem pro-, pellers 3' may be similarly actuated, for raising the stern, or both bow and stem propellers may be actuated.

Adjacent the rear side of conning tower I4, I provide a cylindricalsided, vertically disposed container [5, and a similar container may be disposedadjacent the forward side of the conning tower. In-Fig. 1, bothcontainers are indicated, and since both are identical in construction, only the rear container will be described in detail, but the same numbers will be used to identify corresponding elements associated with each.

Each of the containers I5 supports therein a length of hose l6 say from 300 to 400 feet, more or less. This length of hose is in a coil, and in reality, comprises a pair of hose, or air lines, enclosed in a tubular sheathing, as will later be described more in detail. The. respective air lines,

in hose l6 at one end with a buoyant device [1, and at their opposite ends with separate pipes l8, l9 extending below the bottom of the container and into one of the compartments in the submarine, as best indicated in Fig. 1. Said pipes are connected by a pipe 29 having a valve 2| therein, so as to form a communication between both of the air lines in hose [6, when de-v sired. A manuallyactuated rotary air pump 22 is at the outer end of pipe l9, and spaced well above the floor 23 of the submarine, while pipe l8 extends atits outer end to a point adjacent'the floor where it connects with the lower endof a reciprocating exhaust pump 24 having checkvalve 25 between the pump and end of pipe [8 for preventing suction of air from the pipe into said pump, while a check valve 26 .at, the opposite side of the lower end of pump 24 admits air at upon actuation thereof draws air from pipe I9 for exhaustion into the compartment in which it is positioned.

Valve 21 is in the length of pipe [9 at a point between pump 22 and the point where the one end of pipe 29 connects therewith and a valve 21' is in the length of pipe [8 between the container l and the point where the opposite end of pipe connects with pipe I8.

Container l5 has dome-shaped cover 28 bolted to the upper end of said container, and said cover is centrally apertured through an upwardly projecting neck 29, the inner sides of which neck are convex in curvature to provide rounded sides.

Centrally positioned within said neck, and spaced from the sides thereof, is the hollow, cylindrical, vertically extending buoyant device [1, which will hereafter be referred to as a buoy.

The sides and lower end of said buoy are integral, while the upper end is closed by a hemispherical cover 36 secured against the upper edges of the straight sides of the buoy by bolts 3!. This cover is formed with a conduit 32 depending therefrom, which conduit is longitudinally divided by a central partition 33 (Fig. 2), thus providing an air line H3 at one side of the partition and an air line l9 at the opposite side. The conduit walls including the partition, extend through the cover 30, and above said cover, it divides to form separate necks 38, 39 extending oppositely outwardly of partition 33. The partition itself extends upwardly and outwardly past the upper sides of the necks, as at 40, and the outer edge of said partition where it extends outwardly of the conduit, is hemispherical in longitudinal contour (Fig. 5), as indicated at 4!. This edge of the partition fits within a hemispherical groove 42 extending longitudinally in a hemispherical ridge 43 that proiects inwardly within a dome-shaped cap 44 that encloses the cover 36 of the buoy. Ears 45 on said ca are secured by bolts 46 to said cover 36. The portion of the partition connecting with said cap thus serves to form a partition in the latter dividing the same into a chamber 41 into which the mouth of neck 39\ opens. The walls of chamber 41 and 48, respectively, are provided with vent openings 49 just above the juncture between the cap and cover 30, for discharge of air or gas from the chambers respectively.

In each of the chambers 41, 48, and at a level between the mouths of necks 38, 39 and openings 49, the said cover 30 is formed with a slightly downwardly inclined lip 50 for drawing any water that may enter said chambers to said openings. The outer edges of said lips are spaced from the inner sides of cap 44, thus permitting this drainage to the openings, and said lips overhang a portion of cover 39 therebelow to form a groove 5| extending circumferentially and horizontally around the cover 39, thus causing the lips to act as baffles to deflect water splashing in through openings 49 from passing into the main portion of chambers 41, 48 into which the 'mouths of necks 33, 39 open.

as indicated in Fig. 1, so as to be yieldably held sealed against said mouths, but removable under internal air pressure.

The length of conduit 32 extending into the buoy I1 is split at its lower end to form separate, spaced extensions 53, 54 of the conduit, the extension 53 being in extension of line [8 and extension 54 being in extension of line l9, These extensions are connected at a point intermediate their ends by a horizontal seating block 55 adapted to seat against the flat upper surface of inner side of lower end 56 of the buoy. The ends of extensions 53, 54 below block 55 extend through apertures 51, 58 of the lower end of the buoy when said block is seated against said lower end, suitablepacking being provided to form water proof joints at, said apertures. The lowermost ends of said extensions 53, 54, project through said lower end 56 and outwardly thereof, and are externally threaded for packing nuts 59, which nuts carry externally, coarsely threaded or grooved nipples for connecting with hose l8a and l9a that are enclosed within the large hose l6. Hose I80. thus connects between pipe [8 and air line I8 in conduit 32, while hose l9a connects between pipe l9 and air line l9 in the conduit.

The main hose [6 that encloses hose l8a, I9a, is flared at its end 16' adjacent the buoy 11 to extend over both of the nuts 59, and is secured rigidly to said buoy between flange 6| of a ring threaded to a boss formed on the outer side of said lower end 56 of said buoy.

The opposite end portion of the hose [6 is formed with an outwardly projecting reinforced flange 62 that is clamped between the margin of an aperture centrally positioned in the bottom container l5, by a flanged ring 63, and the hose IBa, |9a extend outwardly of the bottom of con tainer l5 into the submarine, where they connect at 64 with pipes l8, l9 respectively.

Within the buoy I1 and supported near the bottom thereof between an inwardly projecting flange 65 formed integrally with said buoy, and a clamping ring 66, are a plurality of dry batteries 61, which batteries are preferably segmentally formed to fit around the conduit 32 and their lateral inner sides and to follow the contour of the outer walls of the buoy at their opposite lateral sides. One conductor 68 extends from one terminal of a battery to one of the terminals of bulb 69 adjacent the upper end of a buoy, which bulb is carried in a reflector 19 behind a glass lens H secured in an opening in one of the sides of the buoy. Conductors 12, 13 extend respectively from the other terminal of the bulb and battery into air line l9 in conduit 32 and from thence through the hose l9a into pipe 19 where the opposite ends of said conduits extend outwardly of the pipe l9 at a point within the submarine for connection with a switch 14.

A conductor 15 extends from one of the terminals of another battery61 to one terminal of a socket connector plug 16 secured in a side of the buoy near the upper end of the latter. Conductors 11, 18 extend from the other terminal of the socket plug 16 and the battery 61, to within air line 7 IS in conduit 32, and from thence through hose l8a and pipe l8 into the submarine Where they pass through a plug in the side of pipe I 8 to connect with a telephone 19. The connector plug 16 is a conventional plug for plugging in a telephone for communicating with an occupant within the submarine, and the socket openings are exteriorly sealed by wax 86 or other removable, water-proof coating; which coating isremoved to permit plugging: in a telephone.

The hose lines l8a, 19a, respectively, enclose'a coil. of spring. wire 8| therein: throughout their length, to prevent collapse of the hose under external pressure, and to prevent kinking of the hose. Also, said wire tends to hold. the coils of base in the container l5 againstthe outer walls against accidental shifting. therein.

The buoy I"? is releasably held in container I5 by a centrally divided dome-shaped cap 82. The halves of said cap, respectively, are pivoted at 83 to opposite outer sides of the neck 23- of' the container to permit swinging the halves together and also apart. Around the lower edge ofthe' cap 82 is an inwardly projecting flange 84 (Fig. 2), which flange is formed with a laterally opening V-shaped groove 85 adapted to receive therein an outwardly projecting flange 86 formed around the upper end of the buoy, the cross sectional contour of said flange being. complementary to the V-shaped groove 85. Thus when the weight of the buoy, when the flange 36 is in groove 85, will hold the buoy centrally within the upper end of the container, and thewalls of the capBfwill cover the buoy. The tighter the buoy is drawn downwardly the tighter the cap. willgrip the buoy. To hold' the buoy tightly within the cap, I form eyes 87' at opposite sides of the lower end of the buoy, and wires 88? extend through packing nuts 89 in the bottom of the container to within the submarine, where the lowermost ends, respectively, pass through openings in brackets 90' and through a similar opening in a shear arm 9| pivotally secured at 9.2 (Fig. 4') to the under side of each bracket. The: ends of wires 88 projecting below the arms are each se-.

cured to a pin 93, thus securely holding: the wires taut, and preventing. accidental escape of the buoy.

The container [5 is not water-tight, hence when the submarine is submerged, the buoyancy of the buoys tend to rise, but are held against so doing by the wires 88, which wires likewise hold the cap 82 closed.

In operation, in the event'of' submersion. of a submarine, and its inability to rise to the. sur-' face, the operator merely strikes the shear arms 95 to pivot on pivots 92, whereuporrthe wires are released, and the buoyancy of the buoy carries the latter upwardly to the surface; dragging the hose ['6 with it. The packing glands or nuts 88- are preferably self-sealing after the wires 88 have been carried therethrough, but in any event the openings are readily and easily sealed shut by forcing the packing acrossthe' openings.

Immediately upon the buoy reaching. the surface, the light bulb 59 may be actuated by switch M to signal for help or to give information as to the location of the submerged craft.

After the buoy has reached the surface of i the water, assuming valves 2!, 2'1 21- are closed, the operator opens valves 2!, i and pump 24 is actuated to create sufficient pressure to blow off caps 52' on the necks 38, 39 that are inthe upper most end of the buoy. If either one of the. caps blows off before the other, by obvious manipulation of valves 2!, 21, the other cap will be blown off, thus opening the air lines l8, lBa and I9, l9a to through communication between the atmosphere and the pipes l8, l9 within the submarine. Upon closing valve 2| and opening both valves 21, 21' the actuation of both of the pumps 22, 24 will result in exhausting foul heavy air or gas; from the submarine while fresh atmospheric air will; be brought into the latter.

The admission of afresh and continuous, air supply of air to within the submarine will enable the: occupants of the latter to actuate pump. 94- (Fig. 1) for pumping air into the ballast or descending. tanks 95 formed by the double bottom of the submarine for exhaustion of said water through the conventional check valve 91".

The pair of buoys and hose lines, etc. are provided .to permit any of several rooms in, the submarine to receive fresh air in the event it. is found expedient to close the doors for any reason.

It is obvious, of course, that the buoy I! may be spherical, or of any other desired shape, and the relative proportions of the buoy and other elements may be modified to suit particular conditions.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. A safety device for submarines including a hollow, water-tight buoy provided with a pair of conduits extending therethrough and outwardly of the buoy at opposite sides thereof, one of the ends of said conduits being formed for connection with a pair of flexible air hose, closures frictionally and removably secured over theopposite ends of said conduits, a cap secured over said opposite ends and spaced therefrom for forming a chamber enclosing said oppositeends, a partition extending between said cap and buoy and disposed between the said opposite ends for dividing the said chamber into two compartments with one end of each conduit in each compartment, and said cap being formed with an opening into each compartment providing air communication between the atmosphere and each compartment.

2. In aconstruction as defined in claim 1, the openings in said cap being disposed adjacent the buoy and means removably securing said cap to said buoy.

3; A safety device for submarines including a hollow water-tight buoy, an open ended conduit for air extending through said buoy with its opposite. ends opening outwardly of opposite sides of said buoy, means for connecting one end of said conduit. with a flexible air hose, closure means removably secured over the opposite end of said conduit closing the opening in said opposite end, an electrical battery secured within said buoy adjacent said one end of the conduit, electrically actuated signalling means carried by said buoy electrically connected with said battery for actuation thereof and actuating means for causing actuation of said signalling means by said battery from a point within a submarine remote from said buoy, means removably securing said battery in said buoy against displacement. in any direction relative to the walls of. said buoy.

4. In. a construction as defined in claim 3, a flexible air hose connected at one end with said one end of the conduit, means connecting the opposite end of said hose with a submarine, said actuating. means including electrical conductors extending through said hose and into said submarine, and means actuatable from within said submarine for causingremoval' of said closure means and. for drawing air through said conduit and hose into said submarine.

5; A safety device for submarines comprising a normally vertically disposed, hollow, watertight buoy having walls defining a chamber outwardly of its upper end separated by the upper wall of said buoy from the interior of said buoy,

and said buoy being formed to normally flat in water with said chamber above the water level; a vertical partition dividing said chamber into two separate compartments; a pair of vertical, open ended conduits extending through said buoy and outwardly of the upper and lower sides thereof, respectively connected at their lower ends with hose lines at their lower ends for communicating with the interior of a submerged submarine when the buoy is floating on the surface of the water; the upper ends of said conduits each opening into one of said compartments; the outer walls of said chamber above said buoy being formed with a pair of ports respectively opening into each of said compartments for separately porting said compartments to the atmosphere; and a bafiie in each compartment between each of said ports and each of the upper open ends of said conduits for deflecting water that may enter said ports from said upper open ends.

6. In a construction as defined in claim 5, said buoy being generally cylindrical and vertically elongated, the said walls of said chamber being in the form of a generally hemispherical cap with its concave side facing downwardly, and means securing the said cap at the edges to the upper end of said buoy.

'7. In a construction as defined in claim 5, the baflle in each of said compartments being formed in the upper wall of said buoy, and extending generally horizontally outwardly relative to said partition, and said upper one ends of said conduits being positioned above said ports and above said bafiles and said baflies being positioned above said ports.

8. In a construction as defined in claim 5, the upper wall of said buoy extending slantingly downwardly away from opposite sides of said partition for drawing water away from said partition and the baffle in each compartment being carried by and substantially coplanar with the portion of said upper wall in each compartment so extending from said partition and terminating in free edges adjacent the inner sides of the lateral outer walls of said chamber, but slightly spaced from said inner sides; said ports being disposed below said free edges, and said upper end portions of said conduits being curved in direction away from each other with said open ends facing away from said partition.

9. A safety device for submarines comprising a hollow, water-tight buoy having walls defining a chamber outwardly of its upper end separated by the upper wall of said buoy from the interior of said buoy, a pair of open-ended, vertical conduits extending through said buoy and into said chamber, a pair of caps respectively frictionally secured over the ends of the conduits that project into said chamber, each of said caps being arranged and adapted to be held tightly against the end of the conduit to which it is attached by pressure of water when the buoy is submerged and to be blown off said conduit by air Within the conduit at greater than normal atmospheric pressure; a vertical rib carried by the upper wall of said buoy connecting with the upper wall of said chamber outwardly of said upper wall of the buoy dividing said chamber into two compartments into each of which one of the upper ends of said conduit extends, and means remo ably securing the upper and lateral walls of said chamber to said buoy, said lateral walls being formed with ports opening outwardly of said chamber at points positioned a substantial distance below the upper open ends of said conduits and the remainder of said Walls being imperforate, and means between said ports and said open upper ends arranged and adapted to deflect water that may be splashed through said ports in a direction away from said open upper ends to prevent such water from entering said open ends.

10. In a submarine, a safety device comprising a buoy provided with a pair of vertical conduits for air therethrough projecting outwardly of the upper end of said buoy when the latter is floating in water; a pair of extensible hose lines connected with the lower ends of said conduits and extending into said submarine; a relatively flexible, severable wire secured to said buoy and slidably extending through one of the walls of said submarine into the latter, means securing the said wire to said submarine at a point within the latter, and means for severing said wire adjacent said point and between said point and said buoy for releasing the buoy for floating to the surface of water.

11. In a construction as defined in claim 10, housing between said buoy and said one of the walls of said submarine enclosing said hose lines, said housing having a pair of doors hinged thereon swingable toward each other and toward said buoy to grip said buoy at opposite sides thereof, and means comprising said wire, arranged and adapted to hold said doors in gripping relation to said buoy, said doors being automatically responsive for movement to open position releasing said buoy by upward movement of said buoy when said wire is severed.

12. In a submarine, a safety device comprising a vertically disposed, cylindrical buoy provided with a pair of vertical conduits for air extending therethrough and projecting therefrom at their upper and lower ends; a pair of hose lines connected between said submarine and said lower ends of said conduits; buoy securing means on said buoy extending into said submarine securing said buoy to said submarine adjacent the upper wall of the latter; a housing enclosing said hose lines having a pair of doors at opposite sides of said buoy when the latter i secured to said submarine by said buoy securing means and havin adjacent edges engaging opposite sides of said buoy; means mounting said doors for swinging of said adjacent edge apart to release said buoy, means including said buoy and said buoy securing means holding said doors in position with said edges engaging opposite sides of said buoy; means for releasing said buoy supporting means from securement to said submarine, and said doors being arranged and adapted to automatically swing apart and away from the buoy under the influence of upward movement of the said buoy when the said buoy is released from securement to said submarine, said doors being recessed along said adjacent edges to conform to the cylindrical contour of said buoy and to embrace said buoy and to provide an opening for said hose lines to follow said buoy when the latter is released from said submarine.

LEO Y. BOOHARIN. 

